Monday, September 11, 2017

IBS Week 19:

Nick:
Reflection:

Father thank you for this
day of rest to think about what all you have done. It really is incredible to
look back and rejoice and see what all you have done and brought me through.
You have grown me so much father. You have made me do things I don’t want to do
but in the end its always for my good. In the past, I would have ran from most
situations that you that you have brought me through here. But you have shown
me to press on, to persevere and to endure. You have changed me much Lord but
there is still much work to do. Im very far from imitating Christ and your
likeness. Its has been so easy for me to get caught up in the preparation of
the nest season and what it looks like. Ive have been keeping my eyes on myself
and what is in it for me that I sometimes lose Gods perspective on it all. Our
lives here on this side of heaven is only to prepare us for heaven. To make us
more like his son. In the process we get to be vessels of Gods grace and are
the lights in this dark world. Even though the death of gunner this week was
tragic, I know you will use it for the good. It is truly a blessing Lord to see
you working in the life of other people. Thank you for those eyes, your eyes.

Julie:

John 5:2-17 – “The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath”

Jesus sees this paralyzed man and wants to heal him. My ESV version says that he is an “invalid”. That class consisted of the blind, lame, and
paralyzed. Jesus asked the man, “Do you
want to be healed?” The man gives some
kind of excuse, probably out of fear, but Jesus tells him, “Get up, take up
your bed, and walk.” The man was
instantly healed, and he took up his mat and walked. I know I have many things that deem me “invalid”. I am prideful yet insecure, lacking
self-control yet crippled by fear. This
passage was Jesus speaking to me asking “Julie, do you want to be healed?”. “Yes, Jesus, yes I do!” My excuse for getting up and walking, again
probably out of fear, is that I do not want to fall again. This fear came from past experiences. Once Jesus healed me and picked me up, I hit
the ground running just to find myself back on the floor begging for God to
pick me back up. I left Him in the dust
and ran on my own strength. After a very
hard fall in this last season, Jesus has once again healed me and picked me up,
but this time I am deciding to walk in His stride and not my own. This takes self-control that I do not
naturally have and humility that I also do not naturally have. But this new season of walking with Him very
slowly and at His pace has grown me in those areas as well as patience and how
to wait upon the Lord.

Father, thank you for this
morning in your Word. Thank you for getting my parents here safely yesterday
and for the time we had with them yesterday. Thank you for convicting me of my
judgement I had on them. You're the judge not me. You call me to love them not
condemn them. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of
peace. Lord you call me to bear with them in humility and gentleness, not be
there critic. I want them to feel at home here with us and feel welcome and
loved not judged and nervous. Help me to be eager to maintain unity in the
spirit, not discord or dissension. Help us to be bonded in peace today Jesus.
True biblical love is difficult but achievable with Christ.

Julie:

John 15:1-17 “I Am the True Vine”

As we read through this passage in a women’s Bible study, I
was given an image by God. This passage
talks about how Jesus is the Vine, God is the Gardener, and we are the
branches. The second verse says that He
takes away all branches that do not produce fruit. I thought of a big beautiful tree (which is
me). And as I stood there, I produced
fruits that would grow and drop on the ground.
I started thinking of what fruits I was dropping. Some of my fruit was fake! Plastic!
Non-nutritional! I was producing fruit
in vain. I was not letting God grow
Spiritual fruits in my life. My next
thought was, “Why am I not letting You work in my life, God?”. He said, “You don’t trust me”. He was right!
I wasn’t trusting Him. I was so
worried about looking down and seeing some kind of fruit laying on the ground,
I didn’t care if it was fake or not. I
didn’t want to waste my time trusting in God if there was a chance that He
would not let my produce. So, yes, I am
this tree, and, yes, I have fruit for all to see around my tree --- BUT, what
about the day that someone, maybe a Spiritually hungry child, comes to my tree
for shade and food? What is going to
happen when they take a bite of my fruit and they find out it is plastic, or
worse poisoned? That thought convicts me
to the core. I am thankful for the image
God gave me, because I no longer want to produce fruit for looks or vanity or
quantity, but for quality and health and Spirituality.

I was reading in Acts 8
this morning of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. This passage is both
encouraging and convicting. When the angel of the lord told him to rise and go
toward the south, he rose and went. John Macarthur’s new testament commentary
says that the road down from Jerusalem to Gaza was almost a deserted road that
was hot and untraveled. Yet Phillip didn’t question the prompting of the
spirit. He was not fearful of what to say, he was not to lazy to go a route
that seemed foolish to travel. He simply trusted God. God Prepared this divine
appointment, Phillip just had to obey. So the Ethiopian was in his chariot
reading in book Isaiah. This was a very wealthy man seated high up in his
chariot. To most this would have been an intimidating circumstance to be in.
Not for Phillip, He knew the Lord Jesus had sent him there. The Lord then
commanded him to join the chariot. So Phillip coming behind the caravan ran up
to the chariot and heard him reading Isaiah. Commentary says that it was custom
to read out loud in those days. Phillip had to have known this was why the Lord
sent him down the abandoned road. He must have been full of excitement and joy,
but also boldness.

Julie:

1 Thessalonians 2:12 – “we exhorted each one of you and
encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you
into his own kingdom and glory.”

When we are exhorted or encouraged, we are usually
complimented or promoted in some way or another. That little boost of confidence is always a
good enhance our walk. But sometimes we
must be humbled to walk in a manner worthy of God. And how loved are we when He does this? He sees us as sheep (dumb) walking in the
wrong direction, usually blinded by some kind of pride, and He redirects us
from walking straight off a cliff. The
humility that follows that kind of “ego blow” is that of lowliness. But it is a good place to be, because then
you can refocus yourself back on God and bask in His love that He has for us. That state of humility is exactly what make
us worthy. It sounds so backwards to the
world, but that is the manner God asks us to walk in and stay in. I want to be thankful when God brings me back
to that point of humility, no matter what the cost. I want to look at it as His love and guidance
for my life.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Ephesians 1:14 The spirit is Gods guarantee that he will
give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own
people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Father thank you for this morning
in your word. Thank you for sending your son Jesus as the propitiation for our
sins that we can be restored back to you and that we could be in your presence.

So that we can have peace and
rest. Jesus thank for coming down and leaving all of your divine privileges to
come down and save us from the power of sin and ourselves. Thank you for being
obedient until the point death on the cross so that the promised spirit from
long ago would be poured out on us. And spirit thank you for making your home
within us and teaching us about the father. Without you spirit, I would be able
to grasp and understand the things of God.

Julie:

Colossians 2:8 – “See to it that no one takes you captive by
philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the
elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ”

I used to ride the fence with what I believed about
God. I used to love learning different
theories on who God was or where He came from.
But all that those questions do is drive me away from Him and make me
doubt Him. What I do know to be concrete
in my heart is that the answers to the questions I have are too wonderful for
my head to fathom. They are too great
for ANY human to comprehend. Most of the
questions we hear and repeat are just questions lacking faith. They are questions that have been asked for
centuries with no answers in sight. (Ex.
If God can make a rock too big to move, how does He move it?) I do believe in questioning things and
learning on our own, but God is something I cannot dissect and analyze. He is not of this world, and not even the
smartest of minds can figure Him out. I
am proud to say that I have given up the battle of my flesh in trying to make
God something of this world. It makes
heaven that much more exciting to get to, in my opinion. I do not want the enemy creeping into my mind
and telling me I need to “figure out” God.
I am at peace knowing that He is real and that He loves and protects
me.

Acts 3:16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this
man was healed, and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus name
has healed this man before his very name.

Lord Jesus I was saved in the power of your name. I
know that what I am is because of you Jesus. But I don’t fully understand the
power that comes from my faith in your name. I believe Lord but help me with my
unbelief. I want to know more of you Jesus. I want a deeper and stronger faith
in you. I read this passage and it is just somewhat mysterious to me. It is
such a deep verse. This is where all of what you give us comes from, faith in
your name. The only reason any of this Christian walk and experience is
possible is because of what you did and are now doing through the power of your
spirit.

Julie:

Ephesians 6:1-3 – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord,
for this is right. “Honor your father
and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go
well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

This verse has been a great verse for us to teach
Trent. Trent wants to obey, but he needs
help – as we all do. The bible is a
guide to every trouble, no matter the age.
We had always told Trent the command to “obey your father and mother”,
and he has had to recite it back to us many of times as well. But one thing that I never noticed was that
this commandment was followed with a promise.
The original verse in Exodus 20 says “…that is may go well with
you.” Trent is still a child and doesn’t
understand complete sacrifice, so I thought this was pretty neat that God would
know exactly how to speak to a child so they would hear. If they obey this command, then they get
something. How often is that our
parenting technique? We tell Trent all
the time that we are trying to make his life easier in the future (that it may
go well with you) and protect him (that you may live long in the land), and
that is why he should obey us. God not
only laid out in His Word a motive for Trent to obey, but encouraged Nick and
me in our parenting.

Acts 2:11-12 both Jews and
converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. and we all hear these people speaking
their own languages about the wonderful things God has done! they stood there
amazed and perplexed. “What does this mean?” They asked each other.

None of what
we do or say holds any weight unless we are doing through the power of the Holy
Spirit. I can just imagine the apostles telling the crowds all about Jesus and
Gods wonderful mystery of the kingdom of God. Testifying to all of the miracles
Jesus performed during his ministry on earth. Them sharing their testimonies of
the saving power of Gods grace and how it can truly transform lives. God chose
the ones who the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they
are wise. God transformed the lives of these fisherman from Galilee. They were
now here in Jerusalem, redeemed and transformed by the power of God into
trophies of His grace for all the world see. What took place here Pentecost
wasn’t just for these apostles once for all time. He wants to use our lives in
the same way through the power of his spirit. We to are to consider and
proclaim the wonderful things he has done for us. To testify to the things we
have seen and heard from him.

Julie:

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 – “We are afflicted in every way, but
not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not
forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death
of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

When I read this verse, I was being pressed from every side
by God. I was in distress and skating
the fine line between discouragement and depression. If I could put this verse in a “Julie
Version”, it would go something like this – “The walls are closing in from
every side, but we are not crushed; confused, but not overwhelmed to
discouragement; captured and beaten, but not abandoned by God; humbled to
lowliness, but able to keep walking; we suffer like Jesus because He is
manifested in us.”. The first point is
that we are never defeated – especially by death. And even if death does take us, we have
eternal life, so death still has not won us.
The second point is that we suffer like Jesus because He is in us. We do not get the reward of having Jesus in
us without having all of Jesus in us.
That includes not just the salvation, eternal life, and joy, but it also
includes the flogging by family and friends, the pain and suffering needed to
grow, and the humility of dying to self.
But once you know a life with Jesus in you, what better way to
live? As it says in Psalm 84:10, “For a
day in your courts (or presence) is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house
of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”. I have walked the path without Jesus in me,
and it is hell in comparison to the hardest day with Him in me. I pray I keep this perspective and grow more
into it.

Friday, August 18, 2017

IBS Week 13

Nick:

1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the Lord and serve
him faithfully with all your heart. For consider the wonderful things he has
done for you.

As of recently the Lord had brought to my
attention how lazy and irresponsible I have become. I have been making small
compromises and neglecting the small things that the Lord has given me. I have
been unfaithful in areas in which the Lord has given me to be faithful in. My
perspective and my heart have been so far off from what God has intended for
me. I know that he has great plans from me, but along the journey I have
forgotten that to be given more I must be faithful in the little things. I have,
in a sense, grown weary of doing good, of serving him. I’ve allowed myself to
be distracted by things and people. Things that ultimately are temptations of
the flesh and drag me way as James puts it in 1:14. The Lord by his gentleness
has redirected my path and has brought to my attention the cliff I was getting
to fall off of. There is a countless list of incredibly wonderful things He has
done for me out of his boundless love. Because of this, Lord please restore my
heart to you so that I can fear you and serve you faithfully with all my heart.

Julie:

2 Corinthians 3:3 – “And you show that you are a letter from
Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tables of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

In the Old Testament, the people followed the law of
Moses. They followed the ten
commandments that were written on stone tablets. They kept their distance from God in the temple. They sacrificed when they sinned. But now, we worship a God who does not keep a
veil between us. We follow a God who has
already accepted the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, His Son. And most of all, we do not have to go back to
the stone that the ten commandments were written on because they are now
written on our heart. We now live for a
God that conquered death and defeated the grave. The guilt and shame that we once carried
around on our hearts is now replaced by hope and faith. That hope and faith has a character on our
hearts. It is the cross. At the cross, when Jesus died for our sins,
we discovered a relationship with God that does not require the weight of the
law to be carried around in our hearts, but a light and peaceful word. I felt this weight go away when I read this
verse this morning. God reminded me of
His hope, truth, light, and faith. And
what comes out of the mouth comes from where? The heart!!! If the things God
reminded me of are dwelling in my heart, then they will overflow off my lip and
into the heart of others. My application
is to remember the what is truly dwelling in my heart that God placed there,
and let THAT flow from my mouth.

Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

This was a portion of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him to show them how to pray. He never said to pray for things to go the way you want them to go, but he said to pray for gods will to be done here on earth. I want to come to the point of wanting gods will to be done and nothing more. I know there has to be a huge freedom in wanting only what god wants for us. He created us and knows best for us. He knows the plans he has for us, we don’t. I ﬁnd myself trying to ﬁgure out or predict what God might have for our family and he never asks us to do that. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. But our spirit is willing but our ﬂesh is week. We want to know what God knows, and we can’t have that. We try and say this is his will and we think we know and we dwell on the ideas that we form. Ultimately, these thoughts will never give us the satisfaction we are looking for. We will never have the peace our hearts long for. I know that there is that peace and freedom once we have that perspective of wanting only Gods will to be done, not mine.

Julie:

1 Corinthians 7:23 – “You were bought with a price; do not
become bond servants of men.”

This is one of those verses that you hear a million times,
then one day it really sinks in how true and personal it really is. Where I was spiritually when I read this verse
this morning wrecked me. I know that I
am bought with a price, but have I really ever measured the weight of that
price? I’ve tried. But I never fully grasped it. As I read this though, God opened my eyes to
recognize what exactly was given for my salvation. The weight of Jesus’ blood was on me. I felt it.
It was heavy. I was humbled! I was in awe.
I was convicted. I had not been
respecting what God sacrificed for me – his Son. I have a son.
I can only taste the pain of the sacrifice. And it was for me! This lack of respect had landed me in giving
myself to men (the world), not God. Man
does not own me. Man did not create
me. Man does not know my future. God does.
Why do I enslave myself to something that does not even care for me the
right way? Man usually has an ulterior
motive or a selfish ambition. I, as
God’s beloved, cannot let myself get entangled in the pleasing of man any more,
for man has nothing to offer me because I now have a better understanding of
the weight of my price. I am far more
valuable than to fall into the snares of the world and be overcome by it. I am God’s purchase and I will let Him be my
guide. I will let Him overcome me, and I
will submit to my Creator.

I am so happy, to the point of tears, to realize my faith in
God is maturing. I no longer doubt His
Presence when I don’t feel Him close and my stressing out of situations is
subsiding because my faith in Him has grown.
I am to let my past experiences be the precedents that give me
faith. Thank you, God, for my trails
that have strengthened me. Please
continue to live and move in me. Please
continue to grow me. You are right next
to me, watching me, right now. I want to
grow so much more in You, that I acknowledge You every moment of every day, and
not let You slip to the background as the day goes on. I want to be as confident in your Presence
then as I am during devos in the morning.
When I take up my cross every morning, I want to know Your Son is
carrying His cross with me too, although I do not always feel Him near. Because You live and move through me, I can
have to selfless ambition to run and it not be in vain. That chain of condemnation has been
broken! God, I do not want to treat You
like the wind, but instead acknowledge Your Presence and honor it.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

IBS Week 10:

Nick:

2 Timothy 2:21 – “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from
what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy,
useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Father, thank you for this morning here with You in Your
Word. Thank you for your grace and mercy
and for allowing me to be healthy. Thank
you for Your Word and Your revelations of who You are. On Saturday the 24th, on the way to
the beach, Austin asked me to teach chapel on the 6th of July. God, You are so incredible. To bring a guy like me from where I was to
where I am now is a miracle. It’s who
You are. It’s what You do. You brought to mind on Sunday during church a
verse that You gave me very early on during my walk with You – 2 Timothy
2:21. Lord, You have cleansed me from
what is dishonorable, and now I am ready for You to use me for every good
work. Whether it be teaching, media,
gardening, or leading my family, they are works that You have prepared for me
to bear fruit for You. God, You are so
good and faithful. Thank you for
choosing me to be a part of Your kingdom.

Julie:

Luke 7:36-50 – The woman with the oil

This woman was bold by being such a sinner and walking into
a Pharisee’s house. She honored Jesus (I
think) by standing behind him. She
acknowledged who she was by weeping. She
obeyed the Holy Spirit (I think) by giving Jesus her oil. She sacrificed (I think) by giving her
valuable oil. If I had to guess, I would
say it was expensive. She didn’t do this
act to be forgiven (I don’t think). I
honestly think she was compelled by the Holy Spirit to pour out all she had to
Jesus, whether it was much or little (like the feeding of 5000). She probably thought she couldn’t offer
anything of enough worth because she was such a sinner, but she had the same
child-like faith that the boy had in the feeding of 5000 to humble herself (to
not care what others thought) and to give up what she had (sacrifice). She did not even have water or a towel. She used her tears and hair. On her way to Jesus I’m sure she thought, “I
am so unprepared to do what I am being compelled to do, but here I go
anyway.” She was faithful when it made
no sense to be. She was so bold and
courageous to walk into a Pharisee’s house being such a sinner that everyone
knew her. And little did she know that
by giving her oil, tears, and hair (something so little), she gave MORE than
anyone else at that house. She didn’t
let the enemy tell her that because she had so little that it wasn’t enough in
comparison to the “Pharisees” and “disciples”.
She just walked when God called.
And in being so faithful, Jesus forgave her of her sins and she was able
to be at peace. For a sinner, it is
truly a relief to hear that you are forgiven.
I’m sure hearing it from the mouth of God, face to face with Jesus, was
beyond words can explain. This woman
didn’t seek to serve Jesus to earn her forgiveness, she simply walked in the
Spirit.

Friday, June 16, 2017

IBS Week 9

Nick:

LUKE 7:22-23 - AND HE ANSWERED THEM,"GO AND TELL JOHN WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN AND HEARD: THE BLIND RECEIVE THEIR SIGHT, THE LAME WALK, LEPERS ARE CLEANSED, AND THE DEAF HEAR; THE DEAD ARE RAISED UP, THE POOR HAVE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM. AND BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS NOT OFFENDED BY ME.

THE DISCIPLES OF
JOHN CAME TO JESUS WANTING ANSWERS FOR JOHN ON WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS THE ONE TO
COME. IT JUST SO HAPPENED THAT WHEN THEY ARRIVED HE WAS PERFORMING THE MIRACLES
THAT HE PROCLAIMED HE WOULD DO EARLIER IN CHAPTER 4, WHICH WAS PROPHESIED IN
ISAIAH 61. JESUS DIDN'T HAVE TO SELL HIMSELF OR JUSTIFY HIMSELF OR CONVINCE THE
DISCIPLES OF HIS IDENTITY. THEY WITNESSED THE MIRACLES AND JESUS SIMPLY SAID "GO
AND TELL JOHN WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN". HE IS THE ONE TO COME AND HE IS DOING THE
WILL OF GOD BUT IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WHAT JOHN THOUGHT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE. HE
MAY HAVE BEEN WONDERING WHEN HE WAS GOING TO SET HIM FREE FROM PRISON, BECAUSE
THE PROPHECY STATES THAT HE WOULD SET THE CAPTIVES FREE. HE DID SET THEM FREE
AND GOD'S WILL FOR JOHN WAS TO BE WHERE HE WAS. IT ALSO STUCK OUT TO ME THAT
WHEN WE ARE BEING SAVED BY JESUS, WE BEGIN TO SEE, WALK, WE ARE CLEANSED, WE
HEAR, AND WE ARE RAISED UP BECAUSE WE HEARD THE GOOD NEWS THAT WAS PREACHED TO
US BY THE SPIRIT. AND BLESSED ARE WE WHO ARE NOT OFFENDED BY HIM WHO WORKS
WITHIN US.

Julie:

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 – “For we know, brothers loved by God,
that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but
also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”

When I first read this verse, years ago, I thought Paul was
just being poetic. I completely
overlooked important words like “chosen” and “Holy Spirit” and
“conviction”. But as God has grown my
understanding for Him and my desire to be closer like Him, I have begun reading
the Bible with different eyes. 1
Thessalonians was not on my daily reading today, but I felt compelled to read
it. And as I read this verse, I was
amazed at how possible it actually is to be completely transformed by God when
we hear His gospel and accept it. The
Holy Spirit really can radically save and give power and conviction. It doesn’t always have to be a struggle with
accepting Him (like Jacob the night he became Israel). I know this is possible because I have seen
my husband’s walk with the Lord. It took
a while for me to humble myself and accept that he is sold out for the
Lord. And it took even longer to accept
that I was the one who struggled with God.
But watching Nick’s walk and seeing his loyalty and faithfulness to God,
I have been encouraged to let go of the struggle and just accept because IT IS
possible. And v6 says …”with the joy of
the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all believers…”. Nick really has set an example of true
surrender to the Lord. And as I humble myself and see him for who he truly is
(a man of God), I step into the role of submission and respect to him as God
has designed.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

IBS - Week 8

Nick:

FRIDAY MAY 26,
2017. MARK 13:37 AND WHAT I SAY TO YOU I SAY TO ALL: STAY AWAKE.

I HAVE TO STAY IN
AN EXPECTATION THAT HE IS GOING TO RETURN IN MY LIFETIME. THAT HE IS GOING TO
COME IN ALL HIS GLORY RIDING ON THE CLOUDS CALLING US UP TO HIM AND TAKING US
HOME. I DONT WANT TO BE SLEEPING IN MY FAITH AND RELATIONSHIP WHEN HE DOES. I
WANT TO KEEP MY HANDS TO THE PLOW,, NOT TURNING TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT.
EACH DAY THAT PASSES IS ONE DAY CLOSER TO HIM IN HEAVEN. I FIND IT FASCINATING
THAT EVEN JESUS DOESNT KNOW WHEN THE DAY WILL COME FOR HIM TO RETURN WILL BE. I
IMAGINE ON THAT DAY, THE FATHER TURNING TO JESUS AND SAYING ITS TIME. JESUS
STANDS UP FROM THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD AND OUT OF HIS GREAT LOVE
FOR US, COMES AND TAKES US HOME. I HOPE TO BE ALIVE ON THAT DAY. IT WILL DWARK
EVEN THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE OR REVELATION HES GIVEN TO ME. OUR HEARTS WILL
MELT AND WE WILL BE OVERCOME BY THE SIGHT OF HIS GLORY. COME LORD JESUS! BRING
US HOME.

Julie:

IBS Week 7 – Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

I always love to find verses in the bible that talk about
“she” and “her”. Although some verses
are saying “she” as in wisdom or a city.
But this verse is about a woman!
This verse can actually relate to us as women, because it was said by
Mary. God gave Mary a promise and she
believed. She had faith. She carried the promise that God spoke to her
and didn’t doubt. Not only is her faith and
belief something to point out and admire, but also her promise was
fulfilled. God DOES fulfill His promises
to us. He fulfills His promises to
me! He wants to see me living in his
blessings, but with faith. His will will
come to pass regardless of my faith, but how much more significant is his
fulfilled promise when I can say I held on to faith with endurance during the
suffering and waiting. Mary is truly an
example here for me.

MAY 24 MARK
11:22-24 AND JESUS ANSWERED THEM, HAVE FAITH IN GOD. TRULY, I SAY TO YOU,
WHOEVER SAYS TO THIS MOUNTAIN, BE TAKEN UP AND THROWN INTO THE SEA, AND DOES
NOT DOUBT IN HIS HEART, BUT BELIEVES THAT WHAT HE SAYS WILL COME TO PASS, IT
WILL BE DONE FOR HIM. THEREFORE, WHATEVER YOU ASK IN PRAYER, BELIEVE THAT YOU
HAVE RECEIVED IT, AND IT WILL BE YOURS.

I CAN NEVER FORGET
GODS PROMISES THAT HE MADE TO ME EARLY ON IN MY WALK WITH HIM. GOD GAVE ME THE
FAITH TO BELIEVE GENESIS 12:1 EVEN WHEN THERE SEEMED TO BE IMPASSABLE MOUNTAINS
IN THE WAY WHEN HE GAVE IT TO ME. GOD HAS MOVED SO MANY MOUNTAINS BETWEEN NOW AND
THEN I COULD’NT EVEN COUNT THEM IF I TRIED. IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE AT THE TIME,
TO BE FOR ME TO BE WHERE I AM TODAY, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. PRAISE GOD THAT I
CONTINUED TO BELIEVE WHAT HE HAD TOLD ME IN MY HEART AND NEVER THROUGH IT AWAY.
THERE WERE MANY TIMES OF DOUBT, BUT GOD ALWAYS SEEMED TO RESTORE MY BELIEF. I
CANNOT FORGET THAT, BECAUSE OF JESUS’ STATEMENT IN THESE VERSES, I AM EVEN
HERE.

Julie:

Galatians 6:17 “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for
I bear on my body the marks of Jesus”

I was beginning to let the enemy get to me. I was letting him use people to take my eyes
off of Jesus. He dangled a shiny ball in
my face and I began to bite. But very
quickly God unhooked me from that and directed me in another path. (And more
importantly, He moved me with His Word and His Truth. Which shows growth in our relationship.) He reminded me of two things – 1. I bear the
marks of Jesus Christ and 2. Because of that, no one should cause me
trouble. Jesus suffered the mocking, the
shame, the flogging, the scourging.
Jesus carries the whip marks on His body. Jesus had the nails pierce His hands. It was Jesus whose side was pierced, shoulder
dislocated, face spit on. I can only
imagine how many actual marks were on his dead body. And why? For me! That’s what I deserved. And if my mindset is on Him and what He did
for me then I am humbled. And where does
a humble man sit? On the floor with
their face to the ground. Therefore, let
no one cause me trouble because I can go no further down than I already
am. “There is no counter punch for
humility”. And if I keep my eyes on my
Savior and meditate on His Spirit that lives in me (and bears the marks), then
I can “mind my own business”. This keeps
me free from letting people and circumstances influence me. This keeps me out of the enemy’s
bondage. I was truly freed in reading
this verse.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

IBS Week 6

NICK:

MAY 19, 2017 MARK
7:15 “THERE IS NOTHING OUTSIDE OF A PERSON THAT BY GOING INTO HIM CAN DEFILE
HIM, BUT THE THINGS THAT COME OUT OF A PERSON ARE WHAT DEFILE HIM.”

ITS ALWAYS GOING TO
BE THOSE THINGS THAT DEFILE ME, THAT TAKE ME OUT OF THE SPIRIT AND HIS PEACE.
JESUS CARES ABOUT OUR HEARTS, NOT ON THE THINGS ON THE OUTSIDE. THESE THINGS DO
HAVE SOME IMPORTANCE IN HIS KINGDOM, LIKE STEWARDSHIP, BUT THE CONDITION OF THE
HEART IS OF MORE IMPORTANCE. THERE ARE MANY OUTWARD THINGS THAT GOD HAS CALLED
ME TO HERE, BUT THEY SHOULD NEVER COME BEFORE THE HEARTS OF MY FAMILY. THE MY
RELATIONSHIP WITH MY WIFE AND SON ARE WEIGHING ON MY HEART AND I FEEL AS THOUGH
THERE COULD BE MORE LOVE DIRECTED TOWARDS THEM. I NEED TO BE SPENDING MORE TIME
WITH THEM WHEN NOTHING IS GOING ON AROUND HERE. I CAN BE INVESTING MY TIME INTO
THEM SO THEY FEEL MORE LOVED BY ME. LORD I NEED YOUR HELP IN GUIDING ME IN THAT
DIRECTION. I CANT FULLY LOVE THEM THE WAY YOU CALL ME TO WITHOUT YOUR HELP. I
WANT TO BE A LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER WHO GIVES THEM MY TIME.

Julie:

IBS Week 6

Mark Chapter 5

Mark Chapter 5 has shown me more of who Jesus’ character
is.Which is amazing because I prayed
for that before I read this morning.God
is so good!There is a pattern here with
three different occurrences.The pattern
is the “unclean” coming to Jesus in faith and Jesus healing them with
compassion. Jesus goes to Gerasenes and
comes in contact with a man that possesses an “unclean spirit”.Before Jesus arrives, the man is unable to be
contained and is cutting himself.The
man was not happy and cried all day and night.The man sees Jesus (v6), runs to him (v6), and falls at his feet
(v6).And Jesus cast the demon, named
Legion, out of him.Jesus had the
compassion to heal this unclean man despite what the old testament says which
is to leave the unclean alone.Because
of this man’s faith in Jesus, he was healed.The second instance is when Jesus heals the woman who was bleeding,
which according to the old testament, the women who bled had to remain outside
the camp because they were unclean, but Jesus had compassion on her.She heard who Jesus was (v27), came up to him
(v27), and touched him (v27).Her faith in
Jesus and who he was, healed him, as it says in v28 – “If I touch even his
garments, I will be made well.”And
being face to face with Jesus, she fell down before him and confessed
(v33).Her faith and boldness and
confession healed her.The third
instance in this chapter is Jarius’s daughter who was dying.Jarius was a Pharisee or some kind of Jewish
worshiper in the synagogue.He should
not have believed in Jesus like the others, but he did!He saw Jesus (v22), fell at his feet (v22),
and implored (or begged) him (v22) to heal his sick daughter.During all of this, the child did die and
Jesus went to her.And taking her by the
hand – actually touching her (v41), she came back to life.In the old testament it is a law that no one
could touch a dead body because it was deemed “unclean”.Ok – so all of these circumstances occurred
for us to remember that Jesus defies the laws!He actually steps over them in love and grace and heals us!Us – unclean people – sinners – liars –
addicts – dead to Him – doubters – adulterers. I mean, Jesus loves us, as we
are!!!!! And if we are willing to recognize him, fall at his feet in humility,
and in faith believe that he can heal us a love us then he will (be it his
will).The best way to sum up this
chapter is with v36 – “Do not fear, only believe”.The depressed man, the man opposing Jesus,
and the shamed woman I’m sure all had fear in confronting Jesus, but despite
that, they did it in faith not fear that he would heal them and he did!!!!

SATURDAY MAY 13,
2017MARK 2:9-12 WHICH IS EASIER, TO SAY
TO THE PARALYTIC, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, OR TO SAY, RISE, TAKE UP YOUR BED AND
WALK? BUT THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT THE SON OF MAN HAS AUTHORITY ON EARTH TO FORGIVE
SINS-HE SAID TO THE PARALYTIC- I SAY TO YOU RISE, PICK UP YOUR BED, AND GO
HOME. AND HE ROSE AND IMMEDIATELY PICKED UP HIS BED AND WENT OUT BEFORE THEM
ALL, SO THAT THEY WERE ALL AMAZED AND GLORIFIED GOD, SAYING, WE NEVER SAW
ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

THE SCRIBES IN THE
SCENE COULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR OWN EYES THAT JESUS REALLY DID FORGIVE THIS MANS
SINS BECAUSE OF THIER LACK OF FAITH AND BELIEF. SO JESUS DECIDED TO GIVE THEM
PROOF OF HIS AUTHORITY ON EARTH. HE WAS GOING TO DO SOMETHING EQUALY AS
IMPOSSIBLE FROM AN EARTHLY PERSPECTIVE. HE WAS GOING TO HEAL A MAN OF HIS
PARALYSIS SO THAT THEY KNOW HE HAS THE POWER TO FORGIVE THIS MAN HIS SINS,
REGARDLESS IF THEY BELIEVED OR NOT. HE HEALED THE MAN AND HE JUST WALKED OUT OF
THE ROOM. I CAN JUST IMAGINE THE ROOM IN DEAD QUIET AND PEOPLE JUST IN ABSOLUTE
AWE OF WHAT JUST HAPPENED. IT SAYS THAT THEY WERE AMAZED AN GLORIFIED GOD. THIS
EVENT WAS SO INCREDIBLE THAT ALL THEY COULD DO IS GLORIFY GOD. ANOTHER THING IS
THAT EVEN THOUGH JESUS HAS ALL AUTHORITY ON EARTH, HE NEVER USED IT FOR BAD OR
RETALIATION OF DEFENSE OF EVIL AGAINST HIM. HE ONLY USED IT FOR GOOD. WE HAVE
TO HAVE THE FAITH OF THE FRIENDS OF THE PARALYTIC WHO BROUGHT HIM TO JESUS. WE
HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS WANTS TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE WITH PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO
BELIEVE HE WANTS TO DO THE SAME FOR OTHERS AS HE HAS DONE FOR US. HE HAS THE
AUTHORITY TO DO SO, WE JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE AND HAVE FAITH THAT HE WILL, FAITH
THAT HE CAN SEE.

Julie:

IBS Field Time Week 5

Colossians 2:16-19 – Therefore let no one pass judgment on
you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon
or a Sabbath.These are a shadow of the
things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.Let no one disqualify you, insisting on
asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up
without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from
whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and
ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

“Let no one pass judgment on you…” and “Let no one
disqualify you…” both really spoke to me and ministered to me.The passing of judgment is regarding the
things that we involve ourselves with.In
the old testament, before Jesus, this included Jewish ceremonies to advance
spirituality.Today this means, in my
life, raising my child as a Christian the way I see fit in the Lord.I will not be moved by the world any longer
in regards to what I know is the right way to raise Trent.I had always fallen back into the judgment of
other people and let them shake me.And
in fear of them, I changed my way of raising Trent to a more worldly way
instead of staying on the Godly path.The disqualifying of one is in regards to strong self-disciple and strong
worship.Some have looked on my behavior
as a Christian and said that “I have taken it too far” or “I’m too radical” or
“I’m trying too hard to earn God’s love”.I have let myself be embarrassed for my outward display of love that I
have for Jesus, and I have let it stunt my growth with Him.I have to remember that only God can truly
pass judgment me on my day of going home to heaven, and only He can convict me
for over doing any act of disciple or worship for Him.He alone keeps me pure and grounded.So why should I let the world sway me with
their judgment and disqualifying when I do not answer to them?(Yes, I do answer to my husband and authority
– but only in what’s pleasing to the Lord and I submit to them unto the
Lord.)I will be in prayer to not let
the criticism of the world sway me but instead draw me closer to Jesus.I have to remember that the world tried to judge
and disqualify Him first.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

IBS Field Time Week 4

Nick:

“WHO THEN IS THE FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT, WHOM THE MASTER HAS PUT IN CHARGE OF THE SERVANTS IN HIS HOUSEHOLD TO GIVE THEM THEIR FOOD AT THE PROPER TIME? IT WILL BE GOOD FOR THAT SERVANT WHOSE MASTER FINDS HIM DOING SO WHEN HE RETURNS.” MATTHEW 24-45-46

THE LORD HAS BEEN BRINGING ME BACK TO LISTENING TO HIS VOICE AND BEING OBEDIENT TO IT. I HAVE BEEN DISTRACTED FROM ALL THE BLESSINGS AND SURROUNDINGS THE LORD HAS PLACED IN AND AROUND MY LIFE. EVEN THOUGH I AM IN A MINISTRY WITH OTHER BELIEVERS, THERE STILL IS THE THREAT OF THE ENEMY DISTRACTING ME WITH THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD. ALSO FOR MY FLESH TO TRY AND SATISFY ITSELF IN THINGS GOING ON AROUND ME. PRAISE GOD THAT HE HAS BROUGHT ME BACK TO OUR RELATIONSHIP AND HIS VOICE BECAUSE ITS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. ITS WHERE ALL THE FRUIT COMES FROM. ITS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE ACCORDING TO HIS WORD. ITS THE ONLY WAY I CAN LIVE THIS VERSE OUT. THE LORD HAS BLESSED ME WITH A WIFE AND SON AND HAS CALLED ME TO BE IN CHARGE OF MY HOUSEHOLD, AND TO FEED THEM AT THEIR PROPER TIME. IF IM NOT IN THE SPIRIT AND LISTENING FOR AND TO HIS VOICE, HOW AM I TO KNOW WHEN HE IS ASKING ME TO FEED THEM? HOW WILL I KNOW WHAT TO FEED THEM? IF IM TRYING TO DO THIS IN THE FLESH, IM LIKE THE SERVANT IN VERSE 49 THAT BEATS HIS FELLOW WORKERS. THIS IS A VERY TERRIFYING POSITION TO BE IN WHEN NOT RELYING, DEPENDING, AND TRUSTING IN THE LORD. THE LORD ISNT CALLING ME TO PREACH TO MY FAMILY. HE IS ASKING ME TO FEED MY FAMILY AND GUIDE MY FAMILY IN HIS STRENGTH NOT MINE. LIKE PAUL SAID IN ROMANS, “THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Julie:

Matthew 23 – “Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees (me)” …

v3 –
They preached but did not practice. I do
not want to be the hypocrite who tells people to have faith during storms but
when a storm coms upon me, I have no faith.
V4 – They lay heavy burdens on people’s shoulders. I do not want to be the wife or friend or
sister who lays my burdens on other people to make my load lighter. It only creates a stumbling block for them in
their walk with Christ. V5 – They do
their deeds to be seen by others. I have
recently been convicted of seeking the Lord in vain and it makes me sick that I
can be that rotten and self-centered. I
do not want man to look at me and say, “good job, but instead God look at me
and say, “well done my good and faithful servant”. V6 - They
love honor and the best seat and people addressing them as Rabbi. I can say all day how these kinds of arrogant
and assertive people test my patience, but I can very easily be the same
way. When I don’t get the best seat, I
want to be happy for the one who does deservingly get it. V15 – They travel far to recruit but them
corrupt them with false doctrine. I do
not want to just be enthusiastic about acts of service, but also give my
service the best I can. I do not want to
grow lazy in a responsibility I was once so happy to receive. V16 – The swear by the temple, but the gold of the temple is too
sacred to swear by. Wow – that anything
could have been more sacred than God, but how many times do I do the same
thing? I do idolize certain things and
the real confusion (which could be the same in this passage) is what I idolize
relates to God. So what I’m doing is
dressing up my sin of idolatry with God and calling it Holy, but in reality and
deep down I know that I am choosing God’s gift to me over God himself. V23 – They tithe spices but not justice,
mercy, and faithfulness. They were
giving away things of the flesh, but not things of the heart. God asks us to die completely to ourselves
and that includes our hearts as well. I
pray that I never let my acts of kindness be more visible than the work it is
doing in my heart. V25 – They clean the
outside of the cup while the inside is still dirty. Can I really think that if I serve every time
I can, and always smile, and fast and pray fervently, that no one will see
through the façade. I can clean the
outside of my cup till it is crystal clear, but if the inside of my cup is
dirty then any water I pour out will be just as filthy. A dirty cup does not have living water in
it. Only by Christ can our cups be washed
clean on the inside. V30 – They mourn
for the martyred and the dead prophets, then boast that their fathers were the
ones that killed them. I never want to
be someone who exaggerates who they are to fit in with the crowd they are
around. I once was this way, like a boat
without an anchor being tossed by the waves, but now I have an anchor and over
any characteristics I have, I am first a daughter of Christ and my full
identity is found in Him and His truth.

Matthew 17:26 “And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said
to him, “Then the sons are free.”

In this section, Jesus and Peter are approached by a tax
collector who asks Peter if Jesus pays taxes.
Peter answers “yes” and they go on. But I love the way Jesus turns this into a
lesson for Peter. He asks him if he
thinks Kings take taxes from their heirs.
Peter believed that the kings collected taxes from others, and Jesus
adds “Then the sons are free.” I am an
heir of the King! Therefore, I am free
and exempt from paying taxes to Him. The
ultimate payment was already made, and that was Jesus Christ. I am free from having to pay for my sins
because I am a child of God. I do not
have to earn my freedom. I can keep my
mouth shut and my body still and I will still be exempt. And going along with saying that I am a child
of God is Matthew 18. “Truly, I say to
you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom
of heaven.” What is a child? They are vulnerable with their parents. They are humble enough to ask their parents
for help when they are in need. And they
trust that their parents will protect and comfort them in all situations. This is the child of God I want to be, and
who He wants me to be. I am thankful to
be an heir of God, so my prayer is to have more gratitude in my heart.

Nick:
Tuesday April 18, 2017 Matthew 10:27-28 "What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Through the spirit we receive revelation and insight from the Lord. He pours out his wisdom and understanding on us. He shares his truth with us. There will be times when the spirit is compelling us to say things in the light to people. Things that Jesus told us in secret that he wants us to proclaim from the rooftops. He may ordain a certain conversation with somebody, or put us in front of many people. II Corinthians 5:20 "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. God uses us to further his kingdom and for his sovereign will to be done.” And when he does call and ask us to be those messengers, we must not fear ﬂesh and bone. We must fear the one who created us. The one who determines whether it will be heaven or hell.

Julie:

Matthew 13:44 “The Parable of the Hidden Treasure”

This parable has really made an impression on me. I’ve heard that there are a couple of
different ways to view what Jesus means when he says, “the kingdom of heaven”. When I read this verse, I thought of heaven
itself. Some may think of heaven on
earth. Anyway, the revelation I had was
that heaven is my ultimate reward. My
walk with the Lord thus far has been to seek Him, and sometimes when I do that
I get discouraged when I get no reward.
Then I realized my heart must be in the wrong place to feel tired of
chasing Jesus and coming up short (in my mind).
But, I was missing the heart – the love – the faith. The man in this parable found his treasure
(heaven). Then he covered it back up and
walked away from it. That must have
taken some real faith that it would still be there if he left it there while he
went out and handled other business. His
faith becomes even more encouraging when we find out what he left his treasure
to go do. He sold all that he had. I can’t wrap my head around what everything
was to him. Was it his money and assets,
or was it his family, was it himself?
Whatever it was that he sold, the treasure he found was greater. And once all that he had was gone and he
stood alone with some denarii, he didn’t seem to question what his next step
was. He purchased the field that
possessed his treasure, so that it could be his. This man didn’t steal or manipulate or cut
corners to get his treasure. He didn’t
say “I want to have my cake and eat it too”.
No, he sold all that he had it hopes to possess the best treasure he had
ever seen. He did this out of faith, and
his treasure for that faith was treasure.
What he gave up where things of the world, but what he gained was
eternal life. He didn’t have that
child-like mindset that says, “I would rather have one now than a hundred
later”. He knew what was important and
he put his mind to it until he possess it.
I am praying that I can be that faithful and steadfast like the man in
this parable.

Matthew 10:39 – “Whoever find his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

I am finding myself numb, like a robot. On the plane back to Guatemala and a few days
after arriving I was worrying a little inside because I thought I had
cracked. I thought I was broken of
connecting my emotions to my actions.
But as I was journaling, I was saying how lost I feel. I feel like I have lost grips of who I am and
what makes me “me”. I feel like I no longer
possess compassion or empathy or happiness or sadness or anger. I’m just existing right now. The enemy has tried telling me that people in
my life who are emotionless have rubbed off on me. He has also tried convincing me that Dad
dying as so tramatic that I have flipped all my switched off to avoid dealing
with it. But instead of freaking out
(which I can’t do anyway), I turned to God.
And God showed me this verse and reminded me that I am on the right
path. I felt so much peace when I read
it. I felt joy – not to be confused with
happiness. I felt my fruits growing not
my emotions. God reminded me that if I
lose myself, I will find myself in Jesus.
God is sanctifying me. He is
setting me apart from the way the world thinks.
I do not want my emotions to guide me anymore, but instead the
truth. I felt like I was walking just
parallel to the Christian walk, so close that it looked like I was on it, but
my path had a cliff that I had just walked off.
But this verse disillusioned the trick the enemy was playing on me. I feel so comforted knowing that God is
transforming and renewing my mind to be more like Him.

Friday, April 14, 2017

3/31/17 – Friday – IBS – Proverbs 12:1 -

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Julie:

Pretty direct. Those
who love and accept discipline, accept knowledge. Those who hate discipline, hate
knowledge. This verse is so simple, but
means so much. For instance, no one can
ever take knowledge from you, so why not accept it? This point should help us to realize how
special knowledge is. The next point is,
why we think we shouldn’t. It is because
we think we already know. But all over
God’s Word it says that the prideful are not wise. The world thinks those two characteristics go
together, but in reality (or in God’s eyes), it is a hindrance to any
growth. Not accepting disciple for the
sake of gaining knowledge hinders our growth in not just knowledge, but it also
hinders our humbleness, our self-control, and the softening of our hearts. This person is a fool (or stupid as my ESV
says – but we don’t say that word in our house).

Thursday
March 30, 2017 II Timothy 2:2 And what you have from me in the presence of many
witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Nick:

The
revelation and understanding that God gives us through his word is a blessing
that we are not to keep to ourselves. We are to have fellowship over it. Some
are called to teach it to other faithful men who will then in turn teach also.
But we all are called to be students of his word. We never know when God will
place us in a circumstance that requires us to draw upon the knowledge we
gained during our time here as students. We were all called here for a reason
and I believe its because God in some way wants to use us all for his kingdom
work. There will be some of us who will be called to teach and some even to
preach and pastor churches. This season is to prepare us fro the next season,
and the next for the next and so on. Knowing this, we must continue to be
students of his word in each season because we never know when he will call us
to teach what what we have learned to other faithful men.

Julie:

This verse is the truth of a disciple. In verse one, Timothy
refers to the readers as children. What
they have heard and what has been taught to them should be then taught to other
faithful men. In doing that, they will
turn around and teach others the same.
If we think about a nicely stacks display of glasses, with fifty on the
bottom then forty-five then forty and up and up until it gets to one cup on
top, then we pour water into the first cup.
What happens? The first cup gets
full and begins to overflow, but the cups that are holding it up now get poured
into until they are overflowing, then the next cups, then the next. This is a beautiful picture of what it means
to disciple. Timothy understood that
what these children in the faith learn, they must eventually get to a point of
spiritual fullness where they go out and and teach others, who go out and teach
others.

Wednesday March 29, 2017 Proverbs 9:9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be
still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Nick:

Our
righteousness is our faith in Jesus Christ. Teach one who belongs in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and he will increase in learning. Why does the righteous man
increase in learning? The righteous man knows that he always has something to
learn. He knows that he can never fully understand all of what God is. Teach
him can come in many different ways. Know . ledge is one way of learning. Like
here in ignite, there has been a curriculum laid out for us to learn from, to
walk in. We learn from pastors and teachers teaching from the word in a class
room setting. We also learn from experience. An example here has been Austin
letting the guys teach a message on an area of scripture that God has put on
our hearts. For me learning from experience is the most efficient way to learn
things. Counsel is another way of being taught. Something comes comes up in our
lives and we want to make sure we are doing things pleasing to God. Sometimes
we are so caught up in the circumstances we can’t see through the fog. So we go
to trustable godly men for couple or advice on what route to take. Proverbs
15:22 Without couple plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. All these
different ways of being taught in the end come from Gods providential hand, and
I think that is the key to increasing in learning. God is always trying to teach
us something, we never will fully understand it all.

Julie:

So many times I think I'm wise enough. So many times my pride stands in the way of
receiving instruction. But this Proverb
says that a wise man takes instruction.
So what I'm understanding from this verse is that a wise man humbles
himself to receive correction. He may
know the measure of his wisdom, but he also knows that it is never enough. The hunger to humble ourselves so we can be
filled with more is wisdom. What I am is
skewed and foolish. I'm full of my self
in this sense. So how can a person who
is full of themselves be full of anything else?
They can't! And the worst part
about it that, is pride is a synthetic fullness. Nothing about it fruit bearing. Today I was given instruction on how a godly
woman should act. I felt my pride
welling up inside me saying "You are already a godly woman. You don't need to change anything. Especially what this person is saying. Be
meek!?! Ha! No way! I need to be a
light. My efforts, my credit, me, me,
me." But I knew, after reading this
verse, that those thoughts are nothing more than the enemy trying to get a
foothold of me so I cannot grow. He
wants to stunt my spiritual growth by letting my pride hinder my acceptance of
instruction. I pray that the Lord will
give me more opportunities to choose the humble road of accepting intruction
instead of choosing pride.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Julie:

I can only imagine how terrified Mary must have felt when
she realized her son was missing. If
Mary was confident enough to have Jesus’ head count before they left, then I
can only assume that was because he was such a well-behaved child. Plus he was twelve, not seven! Anyway, if Jesus, being a well-behaved
character was drawn so far from obeying his mother and father, it must have
been for something worth it. And it
was. It was for God. Something sparked in him deep enough to say
to himself “God over parents”. I bet it
was the Holy Spirit drawing him in closer to where he came from, heaven. I feel that sometimes. I feel the Holy Spirit attempting to draw
closer to me. But He only draws as close
as I’m willing to soften my heart. If I
remain stiff-necked and hard-hearted I do not get to experience Him on such a
deep and intimate level. Unfortunately,
this softening requires letting go of things in the world. But Jesus didn’t leave his parents
forever. He was with them again. Which gives me hope when I have to let go of
things and it hurts. Jesus chose God
over literally everything. His family,
his source of food, protection, shelter, his everything. He watched it keep walking and he chose to
stop sit at God’s feet and dwell there instead.
Jesus truly is the greatest example we can have.

Monday
March 27, 2017 Mark 4:10-11 And when he was alone, those around him with the
twelve asked him about the parables. And he said “To you has been given the
secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables.

Nick:

Jesus
is the secret of the kingdom of heaven. The disciples had Jesus, the word in
the flesh. Everything that was prophesied in the Old Testament about the coming
of Christ was sitting right in front of them in the flesh. Colossians 1:27 To
them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the rich of the
Glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Being born
again and baptized by the spirit, we have been born into the kingdom of God. We
are part of his body, the church. He dwells within us using us a vessels to
accomplish his master plan. Colossians 2:9-10 For in him the whole fullness of
the deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of
all rule and authority. Jesus is the secret of the kingdom of God, and we have
been “crucified with Christ, it is no longer us who lives, but Christ who lives
in us. and the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Julie:

Jesus told the people, including the disciples, about the
parable of the sower. He taught many
things in parables. But why? This was the same question that the disciples
and a few others had. He said, “To you
has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside
everything is in parables”. That sounds
like another riddle as an answer to his first riddle. But what Jesus is actually doing is letting
them know that the very fact that they are asking for an explanation shows that
they already know the real secret past the sower parable. They did not here, not comprehend, and walk
away. They were hungry for answered and
stayed to get them. They did not
understand but wanted to! The other
people, which were so many he had to get in a boat to teach, did not care to
understand his teachings. They are
considered “outside” in Jesus’ explanation.
When we search for understanding of God’s Word we are searching for
God. I am guilty of thinking, “Oh, that
teaching went way over my head. Oh well…”
And when I do that, I am just like an outsider, not gaining the secret
of the Kingdom of God. I am a student to
God, so everything I here, I should want to understand. I do not want to just here someone’s doctrine
and run with it because… well…. It keeps me from thinking too hard. I want to be teachable to God’s Word. That desire is the secret.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.But I discipline my body and keep it under control,lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Julie:

What I feel when reading this is conviction of
not having the self-control that I should have.
I have a big heart and the right motives, and that is good momentum, but
without self-control, I'm useless.
Self-control helps me to not exhaust myself. It keeps me from keeping simplicity
alive. It keeps me out of danger. I need self-control over my thoughts, my
actions and my words. I tend to get
excited and let that take me too far.
This is immaturity because it is a lack of self-control. It's a form of being impulsive. I may not be impulsive to buy things or make
changes in my life, but when it comes to expressing myself, I am
impulsive. But I am running a race. And just like runners, I do not want to
sprint the whole time less I tire out and quit.
Sometimes I have to slow my pace down.
Long distance runners are constantly calculating how much distance they
have left vs how many calories they have eaten to burn. They are deliberate with their actions. That is self-control. And at the least, they do not quit when they
get tired. I want all of these qualities
in my spiritual race. I wan to obtain
the imperishable crown for running with endurance and self-control. I want to get to the finish line where my
Father tells me how proud he is of me.
These forms of self-control are something that I have desired for a long
time, and I am just not able to obtain them.
So I know that I can only get them through God. I just have to stay in prayer for him to give
me self-control. I have put myself in
enough bad situations from lack of self-control to realize that I need to pray
for God's discipline to rule over me until it becomes natural to run with
self-control.

Monday
March 20, 2017 I Timothy 4:8 for while bodily training is of some value,
godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life
and life to come.

Nick:

While
practicing self control and whipping your body into submission as Paul likes to
put it is of value here, godliness holds both value here and in the life to
come. What is godliness? I Timothy 3:16 says "Great indeed we confess is
the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the
spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among nations, believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.” The understanding of what God did through Christ and
magnitude of it. So training myself in this understanding of Jesus Christ and
the knowledge of him is of much more importance than physical training. Christ
crucified should be an importance in my daily walk with the lord. It should be
a meditation. Reading scriptures on the events leading up to, during, and after
should be a daily discipline. Having fellowship with other believers over these
scriptures and revelations would only increase my understanding and would draw
out more insight into his life. Seeing that he is the way, the truth, and the
life, why would I seriously devote the majority of my time to something other
than growing in godliness. Keeping ourselves in what he did and his love for us
will be the source of our joy and hope here and in the life to come.

Julie:

When we think of bodily training, we may think of
running and working out. And although
that is correct, it is not the only kind of training that we need to strive
for. Being self controlled, patient, and
loving all require training as well.
They are fruits of the Spirit, and as we all know, fruit does not just
appear. It must be grown. Or else it is fake or plastic fruit. It is easy to be discouraged when we do not
see immediate fruits after three days of caring for a garden. If we get more real with this metaphor: It is
not easy when we give our brother our other cheek when he has struck one. It is not easy to acknowledge the plank in
our own eye, when we are focused on the speck in our brother's. It is not easy to lay our fear down so people
can taste and see the Lord through our boldness in faith. It is not easy to cast our anxieties onto the
Lord. I could some all of this up by
saying it is not easy to way the costs of following Jesus and still pick up our
cross to follow Him. That is why we train
in the little things, so that when Jesus calls us to deeper water, we go. The training place may be nothing like the
arena, but it's all relative. As an
example, walking with 5 lb weights on each ankle may not seem necessary. It may actually be a nucence. But as you walk, your body is building up
muscles stronger than if you had no weights, so that when the day comes that
you need to run, you can do so faster.
God is working out our muscles of self control, love, patience,
endurance, unity, faith, discipline, and so many others. It is hard and it hurts, but the Heavenly
reward is so worth it. I pray that when
I am in seasons of suffering or lacking, that my perspective would be thankful
that I am actually training for godliness.